The Indian Navy Ship (INS) NIREEKSHAK arrived in Sri Lanka for Operational Turnaround (OTR) and a training visit on 21 Apr 26.

The Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ship at the port of Colombo in accordance with time-honoured naval traditions.

Commanded by,  Commander Sailesh Kumar Tyagi, this Diving Support Vessel  is set to conduct a training programme with the diving professionals of the Sri Lanka Navy.

The crew is also scheduled to participate in several activities organized by the Sri Lanka Navy and visit some tourist attractions within the country.

Advisory for Severe Lightning
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 12.00 noon 21 April 2026 valid for the period until 11.30 p.m. 21 April 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western, Northcentral, Southern, Uva provinces, and in Mannar, Vavuniya, Ampara, Batticaloa districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has said Iran is “prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield” after United States President Donald Trump threatened Tehran with “problems like they’ve never seen before” if the two-week ceasefire expires on Wednesday without a deal.

The war of words comes as the second round of US-Iran peace talks scheduled to take place this week in Pakistan remains in limbo after the US and Iranian flagged vessel   near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, angering Iranian authorities and provoking another surge in global oil prices.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said, “There is no official confirmation on whether Iran is going to take part in talks in Islamabad.”

“We know that Iran has tried to keep the door ajar to diplomacy, so there is still a possibility,” he added.

In an overnight post on X, Ghalibaf expressed anger at Trump for “imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire”.

“We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield,” he said.

This was a “mixed message”, according to Asadi, “saying Iran is ready for negotiations but not under terms imposed by the US”.

“There will be no easy negotiations, if, of course, they even happen, as there are still several complicated sticking points. Both sides have a long list of demands, including relating to the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions, war reparations, ballistic missiles and Iran’s regional relations,” Asadi said.

Meanwhile, Trump said he was confident that Iran would negotiate, adding that the country would otherwise “see problems”.

He told PBS News on Monday that if the ceasefire expires without a deal, then “lots of bombs start going off”.

[Aljazeera]